Publications

Inequality and its strain on local Governments: Do external interventions help?

Andersson, K. P., Cook, N. J., Trautmann, M. A., & Valdivieso, P. 2025. World Development 106855.

Abstract: Socioeconomic inequalities complicate the local governance process, especially in low- and middle-income countries. With limited public resources and high socioeconomic inequalities, local governments can find themselves in a vicious circle of increasing inequalities, declining ability to address needs, and mounting social problems. Here, we investigate a possible way out of the vicious circle: policy interventions that help reduce the strain of inequality on local government responsiveness. We argue that interventions are effective in dampening the strain when these recognize the leadership role of local government officials. To test our arguments, we analyze longitudinal data on how citizen satisfaction with local governments varies in 56 Chilean territories over a 15-year period. We find that high socioeconomic inequality is associated with lower overall citizen satisfaction with local government performance, but exogenous interventions can dampen this association when local politicians take the lead in planning and implementing the interventions.

Local Politics of Forest Governance: Why NGO Support Can Undermine Local Government Responsiveness

Cook, N. J., G. D. Wright, & Andersson, K. P. 2017. World Development, 92: 203-214.

Abstract: Concerned with the challenges of sustainable development, policy makers and scholars often urge nongovernmental organizations to increase their efforts to support governance of natural resources in developing countries. How does funding from external NGOs influence the responsiveness of local government policy to the sector-specific needs and policy preferences of local citizens? Using a unique longitudinal dataset from surveys of local governance actors in 200 municipalities in Bolivia and Guatemala, we explore these questions in the context of local natural resource policy. We find preliminary support for the hypothesis that external NGOs gain disproportionate influence over local policy processes in forestry by donating to local governments, and that this influence “crowds out” the influence of local grassroots actors, leading to less responsive local governance as rated by local citizens. However, political pressure on local government officials from organized local groups in the forestry sector counteracts this negative effect. These findings call into question the idea that financial support from outside NGOs to local governance actors will always produce more responsive policy outcomes, especially where local citizen groups do not actively communicate their demands to local politicians. More generally, our findings underscore the importance of local political contexts in moderating the effects of NGO interventions.

Selected working papers

Public policy and trust in unequal societies: Evidence from India

Gorti, G., Cook, N. J., & Andersson. K. P. Revise and resubmit to Policy Studies.

Abstract: Deeply entrenched socioeconomic inequalities complicate public service delivery, especially for local governments in developing countries. In jurisdictions characterized by deep economic cleavages, it can be exceedingly difficult for local governments to fund and deliver public works that satisfy most citizens’ needs in a timely and efficient manner. However, one of the tragic consequences of extreme inequality is that it reduces people’s trust in their government. Some scholars suggest that national-level welfare policies have the potential to dampen the persistent negative effect of socioeconomic inequalities on trust in government. Here, we hypothesize that policy interventions that encourage the co-production of local public works, such as bottom-up demand-driven rural development programs, help neutralize the negative effect of inequalities on trust in local governance institutions by improving perceptions of state responsiveness and building social capital. Using quasi-experimental methods, large-N panel data, and the case of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)– the world’s largest rural employment guarantee initiative – our analysis finds support for these expectations.

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